The Orca Whale

2 Pages 458 Words

The Orca Whale
To look out over the ocean and see the steam rolling off a mountain top on a cold winter’s morning is a beautiful sight. However, to look under the ocean into the blue depths and see an Orca whale feeding is a much more exciting sight. My first dive was in the Pacific Ocean just off the Washington coast in 1991. My first scuba diving experience was a terrorizing experience. After I relaxed, the dive was a better than I had dreamed it would be. When I first saw the Orca whale, I was amazed at his huge size. Seeing an Orca for the first time was incredible and awe-inspiring because of its enormous size. The Orca was magnificent with all his black and white coloration. The dorsal, back patches, stocky body, rounded back, distinctive head, and beak identified the whale as an Orca. The Orca was about fifteen feet long. He was snacking on patches of seaweed while scouring the neighboring sea anemone for plankton. During the dive, the Orca emitted a sharp, clear, moan, letting his pod know that he was not alone. The sound that emanated was fascinating, almost like a harp being played out of key. Far off in the distance I could make out the matriarchal pod that seemed to loom closer every few minutes. As the baby Orca was hovering through the sea anemone forest, he spotted a small school of fish for lunch. Watching the Orca open its mouth was a frightening experience. The Orca’s jaw seemed longer in length than my whole body. Knowing that Orcas are not predators of humans unless free diving is attempted made my heart settle back into place. The teeth of the Orca surprised me. The teeth were conical, like that of a javelin, as I imagined. Gnawing through the school of fish seemed an easy experience for the Orca. Before my eyes, the Orca began to move. His flippers spread out with the help of his flukes. Knowing it was time for him to emerge to the ocean surface, I watched in awe as this amazing creatur...